Employees should not perceive kaizen as something contrary to their desire for comfort - improvements make it easier to work, and new tasks and challenges provide an opportunity to grow and realize their ambitions. In fact, this is what almost all people want, and the desire to maintain “comfortable”, fixed processes is the fear of leaving the comfort zone and making mistakes. The concept of continuous improvement does not imply reaching an acceptable level and freezing processes in this state. And this is not just philosophical balancing act - this approach has pragmatic justifications. The world, the market, consumers - everything changes daily and continuously, so a company or a professional cannot afford to “wake up” once in a set period, survey the market and change something globally for several years to come.

How to learn kaizen and improve your business

Attention

The principles of kaizen are borrowed by the software development industry, and in particular Scrum (the emphasis here is on production without interference, which in essence is about daily process improvement). The concept of a learning organization can also be seen as an implementation of the philosophy of kaizen. And the whole Lean - from startup to marketing - is generally very kaizen.

An important aspect of applying kaizen in business is that process improvement should go hand in hand with innovation - it is this mix that gives the best result. Masaaki Imai Lean guru. The author of the concept of continuous improvement (Continuous Improvement). Founder of the consulting company Cambridge Corporation, specializing in management consulting and selection of senior managers.

Researcher of recruiting, personnel management and organizational processes.

Kaizen - Japanese management

Important

Modern definition of kaizen:

• Everyday improvement (permanent daily improvements)
• Everybody improvement (improvements for everyone and everyone)
• Everywhere improvement (everywhere)
• From small incremental improvement to dramatic strategic improvement

Kaizen is a whole system that, like an "umbrella", contains many practices and methodologies aimed at improving: "Just in Time", "Kanban" (color tags), "Value Stream" or "6 Sigma", "Mugs QC” (quality control circles) and others. "Umbrella" kaizen. The kaizen philosophy was first applied in a number of Japanese companies in the late 1940s. Now this method is used by such prominent companies as Toyota, Nissan, Canon, Honda, Komatsu, Matsushita.

Efficient Manufacturing and Kaizen: Applications and Results

In most Russian firms, it is impossible to implement the kaizen system without significant reforms. The reason lies in piecework wages. In order for a person to innovate, he must be encouraged. And how to encourage a person if he works piecework? There will always be more extra money that the worker puts in his pocket, using his idea without declaring it, than encouragement.
If you open the bedside table of any worker, you can find devices there that are not fixed anywhere. A person who has been working for more than one year knows his technique much better than a technologist or even a designer. He knows how to increase the output of this equipment.

There have been cases where workers have increased productivity in their operation by 1,000 times. In fact, they worked a couple of hours a month. Come on, make such a worker give up his development in exchange for a one-time reward.

Case Study: Kaizen

Costs will rise, product quality will decline, team morale will deteriorate, lead times will increase, and customer complaints will increase. gemba rules:

• When a problem arises, preferably every day, go to the gemba.
• Check complaints, marriage.
• Take temporary countermeasures in place.
• Find the root cause.
• Carry out standardization in order to eliminate the possibility of a recurrence of the problem.

In gemba, customer satisfaction value is added to the product or service. Gemba and management. The role of management is to support the gemba. The kaizen system is suitable for companies of any size and field of activity. The kaizen system originated in automobile factories (Toyota), but it can be applied to any manufacturing enterprise, in any company that creates its own product or service.

Kaizen: how to continuously improve the company, product and yourself?

It is also a process that, if done right, empowers the staff who are involved in discovering waste in processes and eliminating hard work by applying scientific methods. Kaizen is a system that involves every employee, from senior management to cleaners. Everyone is encouraged to offer small improvement suggestions on a regular basis.

Info

In most cases, they are not ideas for major changes. The main idea of ​​the Kaizen method is small gradual changes on a regular basis, which together lead to serious improvement and economic effect. As a rule, these ideas do not cause too much capital investment and systemic changes in the organization.

Kaizen - a system of continuous improvement

Goal: to increase the internal motivation, value and commitment of the company, to ensure that employees work at 100% efficiency, and that employees look (on their own or in small groups / circles for quality) what and how to improve.

• Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The manager encourages action and making mistakes. workers gain experience and lessons.
• Don't think WHY it can't be done. Think HOW to do it.
• Do not apologize. Get started.
• Fix bugs now.
• Don't waste money on kaizen.
  Use your brains.
• Wisdom is gained when faced with difficulties.
• Ask WHY? And take the root.
• It may not be perfect right away.

But the second and third answers to the same question may well reveal a low-quality batch of parts purchased because of their low price, and ultimately lead to a revision of the principles of the purchasing department. Five Steps This Kaizen involves following five rules (steps):

• organize work in progress, unnecessary equipment and extra tools, defective products, papers and documents;
• keep things in order (repair equipment in a timely manner, replace damaged tools, keep them in the same place, etc.);
• keep the workplace clean;
• to be neat and clean;
• comply with the rules of work and safety at work.

Basic principles of the Kaizen system The main "Management" For the Kaizen system to work, it must be started and supported by the management of the enterprise.

Examples of kaizen in the enterprise

The author of the proposal receives a letter of thanks from the management, regardless of whether the proposal is accepted or not accepted for implementation. 6 If the offer is accepted, he receives a bonus. There is a certain grid according to which the proposal is evaluated. 7 If a decision is made to introduce an effective technical innovation, then the experience is distributed to all similar areas of the company.

Kaizen originated in Japan several centuries ago. The philosophy of kaizen is to constantly improve systematically, that is, the kaizen style implies improvement. The concept itself comes from the words "kai" (change) and "zen" (good). There is an opinion that it was this philosophy that allowed Japan not only to rise after the Second World War in terms of economy, but also to become a leading country in the world business arena in general.

What is kaizen

Kaizen is a key management concept. The concept of kaizen is focused on the constant pursuit of excellence, on the improvement of all business processes. In other words, kaizen is the path to excellence.

Japanese kaizen in business is the improvement of sales, management, production, etc. At the same time, the entire staff of the enterprise is involved in this process. The main idea of ​​the kaizen concept is the daily improvement of the company as a whole. The goal is to achieve lossless production. In other words, within the framework of the business, kaizen is lean manufacturing.

There are several modern definitions of this philosophical system:

1. Everyday improvement (permanent daily improvements).
2. Everybody improvement (improvement of everyone and everyone).
3. Everywhere improvement (everywhere).
4. From small incremental improvement to dramatic strategic improvement (from small incremental improvements to significant strategic improvements).

This system is aimed at continuous development for the better. It includes many different practices and methodologies: Just in Time, Kanban (color tags), Value Stream or 6 Sigma, QC Circles (quality control circles) and others.

One of the main theses of the kaizen system is that production should always be consumer-oriented. After all, it is thanks to the satisfied needs of customers that the profit of the enterprise increases.

However, according to the Japanese style of kaizen, there is no company in which there are no problems at all. That is why it is important to be able to set up employees to work without fear of mistakes, but with the desire and ability to prevent them.

For the first time, the main provisions of kaizen were described by the Japanese Masaaki Imai in 1986. He published the book "Kaizen: the key to the success of Japanese companies." A few years later, Imai's second work, Genba Kaizen: A Path to Reduce Costs and Improve Quality (1997), came out. This book touched upon aspects of production from the point of view of kaizen. At the same time, gemba (gemba) is a place of direct production (workshop, office space, etc.).

The author of these works is the founder of a consulting company. For many years he was engaged in the selection of personnel. Today, Imai is the founder of the Kaizen Institute, which teaches competent management based on this system, and also provides consulting assistance to organizations that use kaizen.

To date, there are many training materials on this system, and the experience of practicing organizations and the books of Masaaki Imai are the basis of each manual.

The practice of kaizen in production: 5 methods Masaaki Imai

In his book Gemba Kaizen, Masaaki Imai tells how following kaizen methods in production has helped many well-known enterprises to reach a new stage of development and significantly increase their efficiency. Their review was prepared by the editors of the General Director magazine.

What goals will you achieve with kaizen

The continuous improvement process aims to explore a wide variety of new forms of cooperation (self-organization through capable employees, personal responsibility of team members, development of innovations, etc.). Kaizen also says that the success of an organization depends not only on the professional competence of the manager, but also on the social one. Due to the fact that the process of changing views is always moving, carried out according to the “top-down” scheme, it is extremely important to have a leading management system in which employees are shown an example. Employees learn from it, adopt experience, change their views.

The goals of kaizen in terms of economics and social interaction are:

• productivity increase;
• improving the quality of the product;
• change in logistics;
• reduction of waste;
• decrease in stocks;
• increasing the readiness of production facilities;
• motivation of participants;
• team building;
• increasing the responsibility of employees;
• corporate management style;
• flattening the hierarchy;
• continuous professional development of employees at all levels.

The main principles of the correct operation of kaizen

Within this system, there are several fundamental principles.

1. Organization of the workplace. The organization of the workplace implies the optimization of activities through the competent management of your work area. As we have already said, in Japan it is customary to designate this process as “gemba” (gemba). To comply with this principle, there are certain management tools that are called the 5S methodology (S - from the first letters of the Japanese words applicable to this system):

1. Seiri - sort out everything that is not required in the work. To identify unnecessary elements, you can use special markings. If any marked items are not used in the case, then they must be removed from the workplace.
2. Seiton - we put in order everything that we need in our work. At the same time, the necessary tools should be easily accessible and in sight.
3. Seiso - all the tools needed in the case must be clean. After the end of the working day, you should clean up at your workplace.
4. Seiketsu - These three steps should be standardized and performed automatically. After employees have found improvements in their activities from such an organization of their workplaces, it is necessary to conduct training on the implementation of these actions with the workforce.
5. Shitsuke is the practice of managing jobs. A system should be provided to monitor the area of ​​activity of employees and follow their organization.

2. Elimination of unjustified losses. This principle is based on the search and elimination of those actions in the production processes that have no value and do not add it. In Japan, this principle is called "muda".

In general, almost any work is a certain sequence of certain actions that lead to the transformation of the source material into the finished product. Some steps add value to the finished product, and some are losses and should be eliminated.

The kaizen system assumes the presence of seven types of losses (“muda”):

1. Movement. Those movements that are unproductive and superfluous simply increase the time required to complete any operations, and their complexity.
2. Expectation. The extra time spent waiting for the execution of operations increases the entire production cycle.
3. Technology. If the technological process is not properly organized, this often leads to inconsistent actions.
4. Transportation. Constant movement to different places, serious distances, frequent descents and ascents in the production process increase losses.
5. Defects. In the event of defects, material and labor resources are spent on their elimination, which increases production costs.
6. Stocks. Inventories can add value to a product, but not its value.
7. Overproduction. This loss occurs when more products are produced than planned.

3. Standardization. This principle involves the creation of standards, that is, a stable basis for work. However, if the internal or external environment changes, these templates must also be changed. Within the kaizen system, standardization is a process that can never be completed and is constantly improved through the PDCA cycle.

What are the elements of the kaizen system

The kaizen system includes five main elements necessary for its normal and functional (effective) existence in the organization.

Element #1. Teamwork. The whole team is one single team that works for the common good and achieve a common goal. Employees at all levels must take care of their colleagues. Teamwork is based on constant information exchange, mutual learning, timely performance of job duties, etc.

Element number 2. Personal discipline. According to kaizen, all employees must independently improve their discipline and monitor it (manage personal time, monitor the quality of work, independently comply with requirements and regulations, properly spend materials and resources, etc.).

Element number 3. Moral condition. Regardless of the success of the company regarding the implementation of its plans and ideas, it is important to maintain the right morale, team spirit. To do this, it is necessary to use different motivational methods, provide good working conditions for employees, take into account merits and encourage them, pay for medical insurance, pay vacation pay, etc.

Element number 4. Quality mugs. In quality circles, whose members are employees of different levels, it is customary to share experiences, ideas and other elements that are important for collective activity in the organization. Thanks to the ability of each member of this circle to compare their level of work with the level of another employee, all participants in such associations can improve their performance by paying attention to good examples.

Element number 5. Suggestions for improvement. Regardless of what position this or that employee of the company occupies, everyone should have the right to make any proposals for improving the activities of the enterprise. Even in cases where these proposals are absurd, they still need to be considered and taken into account.

Application of kaizen in company practice

Kaizen technologies are based on the creation of specific teams that solve different problems. Depending on these same tasks, five main types of such teams can be distinguished:

1. Permanent teams that work on a daily basis. The members of this group are specialists who work in the field.
2. Problem solving teams. Such teams are convened to solve certain problems that sometimes arise in the enterprise. Members of these associations are members from different permanent teams. At the same time, the size of the group, which was created to solve certain problems, does not exceed 6-8 people. As a rule, after a solution to the problem is found, such teams are disbanded.
3. Cross-functional teams that are created in order to evaluate the processes that exist in the organization and find opportunities for improvement. Team members are heads of various departments and specialists.
4. Solution Implementation Teams that are created to implement previously developed process improvements. Such groups include members of permanent teams, their problem-solving representatives, and members of cross-functional associations.
5. Small groups are created to develop, implement and apply specific or new production processes. Members of such associations are representatives of the lower levels (the working class), as well as representatives of the heads of departments from permanent teams and teams to solve problems that have arisen.

The working hours of all groups, except for permanent ones, are determined by a kaizen session, which can last from 2 to 5 days. Each session is built on the principle of the PDCA cycle and is designed to solve a specific business problem.

How to involve in kaizen workers who say: “It is impossible to speed up our equipment”

It is not only tiring for an adult to perceive lectures, but sometimes it is also useless, because the thought sits in the head: “Yes, I have been working here for 20 years, well, what new things can they tell me.”

There are many examples of such skepticism. Find out how to convince experienced employees that change is not only possible, but also useful, in the case of the magazine "CEO".

Kaizen in production

In order to eliminate all kinds of losses already in the gemba itself, it is necessary to regularly monitor and analyze the processes and operations within the production. For this you need:

1. Constantly monitor the implementation of all goals and objectives in the field of development of the "PSK" unit.
2. Support the already implemented principles and tools of the CPS.
3. Collect proposals for improvement, control over their implementation.
4. Improve standards and strictly monitor their implementation.
5. Visualize all the changes taking place in the organization.
6. Implement kaizen proposals in production.

“Kaizen proposals” in production are proposals submitted by employees of the organization. These ideas have a specific focus and are expressed to:

• improve performance and increase productivity;
• change working conditions, reduce monotony and improve safety;
• save resources (energy and materials);
• improve workplaces and thereby increase efficiency;
• change tools and fixtures;
• eliminate various types of losses;
• improve product quality.

Those companies where there is a place for kaizen proposals are examples of enterprises with well-organized production, despite the lack of economic benefits from such a technique.

The scheme for submitting kaizen proposals is as follows: the employee draws it up on a special form, where he describes the essence of the problem, its solution and the expected effect, and then transfers this document to his immediate supervisor or the person responsible for the development of the PSK. At the same time, such forms are freely available to all company personnel.

After receiving such a sheet, the head must register it in a special journal. The decision to implement must be made and communicated to the proactive employee within 3 days from the date of submission of the proposal. If it was decided to implement the idea, then this introduction must be completed within 30 days. After the offer is implemented, the necessary data is sent to reward the employee.

There are also "kaizen projects", which are submitted by employees individually or in groups and are aimed at improving all aspects of the organization's activities in terms of economic effect.

Kaizen projects are usually divided into three groups:

1. Small (effect from 10 to 30 thousand rubles).
2. Medium (effect from 30 to 60 thousand rubles).
3. Large (effect above 60 thousand rubles).

Kaizen projects are drawn up in accordance with a special form, which must contain a project passport. This document reflects the inputs and outputs of the project, the period of its implementation, the composition of the working group, tasks, and the intended effect. This program is accepted by the immediate supervisor.

If the project is small, then it can be approved by the immediate supervisor almost immediately, if the project is large - by the head of the organization within 3 days. Any program is entered into the organization's database. The project approval period can be any, but the implementation period, if approved, is 90 days. The working group is responsible for the implementation of the plan and its implementation.

• How to establish cooperation between employees of different departments within the company

Obvious results of kaizen practice

In the modern world, not only competition has increased significantly, but also the requirements from consumers have become tougher. The introduction of kaizen is a long-term project, the implementation of which must be carried out daily, on an ongoing basis, without interruptions even for a month, otherwise you will return to the previous level. To always be one step ahead of your competitors, improvements must be made on a daily basis. Of course, in one moment it is impossible to increase profits by 2 times. But if we systematically move forward, then soon labor productivity will grow by 50-100% or more. And if for decades to do everything necessary to improve the efficiency of work, then the company will always overtake competitors, and it is guaranteed the position of a leader.

By right, one of the most striking examples of the effectiveness of kaizen is Toyota (the company has been living in this concept for more than 70 years). This example of kaizen is amazing!

It is important to understand that incremental improvements add up to significant strategic wins. Kaizen does not mean having a large staff, but an efficient staff, where each employee strives to do their job better than yesterday. That is why in enterprises that exist within the framework of the kaizen philosophy, the number of staff can be 10-20%, and sometimes 50% less.

These changes often do not require any investment. It's enough just to do your job the best you can.

As a real example of kaizen, let's go back to Toyota. Its leader (Taiichi Ohno) was convinced of the competence and talent of his employees, and was also confident that if they had the necessary authority, they would make the best decision of all. And he used this approach regularly. In other words, if the company's goal was to produce 100 units per hour, then Taiichi Ohno provided his engineers with only that part of the resources that would allow the production of 90 parts, while not reducing the volume requirements. Due to the inability to easily complete the task, the workers were forced to either work without sleep and days off, or invent some kind of improvement to solve this problem. After completing the task and reaching the required production volumes, Ono removed 10% of the employees from this line and put them to work in another area. At the same time, he demanded the same 100 units of production from the workers who remained on the previous line.

Even in Japanese schools, children are taught "small work", explaining that both small and big work mean the same amount, and one must always act methodically.

In Russia, the philosophy of kaizen is not very common, since we want "everything at once." Therefore, more often our organizations resort to innovative solutions, rather than methodical improvements. Due to the lack of readiness for kaizen, many Russian companies have low productivity and are not competitive in the global business arena. However, some firms still try to adhere to this philosophy: Lukoil, Alrosa, GAZ, Baltika, KAMAZ, Rosatomstroy, Hydrosila, Soyuz Bank.

10 fatal mistakes of those who misuse the kaizen method

Mistake #1. Slow approval of ideas.

The best response would be a day-to-day response. That is, once you have received an offer from an employee, you can:

• tell him: "Do it!";
• act as a mentor or entrust someone with mentoring (if necessary, finalize the project);
• create a project team or invite an initiative worker to break the program into microtasks (if we are talking about a global or complex idea). In this case, the reaction rate may be slower (up to 7 days).

Mistake #2. Creation of committees for the approval of ideas.

When a manager is considering a project, he must adhere to the principle of "gentigenbutsu" ("go to gemba, look, discuss and approve"). It is better to see the problem “in person” in production than to discuss it with someone verbally.

Mistake #3. Accumulation of proposals that are awaiting consideration and implementation.

The fact is that in the question of proposals, quality is always more important than quantity. With this approach, the emphasis is on solutions that can eliminate small problems. This allows ideas to be implemented very quickly and incorporated into the production process. In addition, employees become more self-confident and learn to use various tools to solve problems more intelligently.

Mistake #4. Less than 99% of ideas are implemented.

In order for the maximum number of ideas to be realized, your employees must be competent and trained. Plus, it is important to define the standards that will be the criterion for the quality of a good kaizen offer:

• the focus of the idea on the elimination of small problems, its concreteness;
• the proposal should be aimed at eliminating muda, improving production in terms of safety and ecology, etc.

The ratio of submitted and implemented proposals should be carefully monitored and visualized. It is also necessary to create a team of managers who will ensure the transition from the current state to the target percentage of ideas implementation (99%).

Mistake #5. Inappropriate kaizen proposals.

In order to avoid this mistake, it is necessary to develop standards for good ideas. In addition, you need to focus on the goals of Hoshin Kanri (policy deployment), external and internal client, as well as improve processes in your area of ​​​​responsibility. Ideas should be generated, adhering to the concept of "Safety - Quality - Costs - Delivery", and attention should be paid not to individuals, but to the entire modernization process.

Mistake #6. Anonymous kaizen proposals.

Anonymity in kaizen is not provided. The quality of kaizen directly depends on the level of development of employees. And if you do not know the strengths and weaknesses of your colleagues, then you cannot provide the necessary coaching for the idea generator.

It is also important to understand that if employees prefer to submit proposals anonymously, then there is no trust in the team and there is an unfavorable environment for kaizen and lean manufacturing. Therefore, before launching the proposal submission system, it is extremely important to establish a healthy climate in the team, and then the anonymity of proposals will disappear by itself.

Mistake #7. Unfair reward.

Any employee should be rewarded even for the smallest realized idea. At the same time, in order to receive a larger remuneration, the employee must be familiar with the criteria developed by the management. They should be as simple and clear as possible:

• effort expended;
• creativity;
• effect, etc.

If your enterprise attaches great importance to team proposals, and you want to encourage teamwork, then rewards should also be given to groups of people who form such an association. At the same time, this approach will significantly reduce the likelihood of undeserved rewards received by individual employees of the organization.

Mistake #8. Using only material motivation.

The central figure of kaizen is always a person whose motivation cannot be reduced solely to material needs. Within the framework of the kaizen system, methods of non-material stimulation must be applied:

• recognition of merits, which is based on an attentive attitude towards employees on the part of management;
• providing opportunities for self-realization, development of skills of employees of the enterprise;
• recognition of the achievement of the result;
• improving work safety or environmental conservation through kaizen offerings.

Mistake #9. Insufficient support and promotion of the kaizen offering program.

It is essential to promote the very essence of kaizen, which is to change for the better everywhere and every day, and not just hold kaizen workshops and ensure submissions of proposals. First of all, it is worth focusing on the active generation of ideas within teams, while not forgetting that quality is more important than quantity. You can, for example, hold a kaizen championship or some other event that will be aimed at all sorts of improvements.

Mistake #10. Slow implementation of ideas.

Very often, this error occurs due to the lack of resources necessary for the implementation of any idea (time, money, materials, etc.). Moreover, this may be due precisely to a good system for submitting proposals. Indeed, with the proper organization of such work, there are quite a lot of ideas that deserve attention from employees, and from the point of view of resource opportunities, it is difficult to implement them all. The challenge for management is to remove the lack of resources and other obstacles to getting a good proposal to fruition. For this, the skill matrix and the 4M grading system, which includes human resources, materials, machines, methods (manpower, material, machine, method), are perfect.

• How to implement the "Ordering 5S" system: Russian experience

Kaizen work

Have you decided to apply the 5 principles of Kaizen in your work? Then it is necessary to place these points directly in front of you, so that you can always rely on them. They should stay there until you yourself notice that they have become the basis of your work.

Sorting. To begin with, it is worth considering: improving what will help you work even better and more efficiently. The principle is this: do not do anything extra, do only your job. Try to notice which things are not related to your work at all. It is better to reduce the time for some classes, it would be more expedient to transfer some to those whose nature of work is more appropriate for this. In many organizations, it is practiced by managers to personally calculate the amount of services they sell and even draw up contracts. However, all these responsibilities should be shared between accounting and lawyers. Everyone is convinced that the established order allows the service to be rendered faster. But with a well-organized process, despite the fact that everyone performs only his own function, the work would move forward more actively.

Sometimes, in order for your work to go faster and be effective, it is enough to correct even the smallest details. Do this and you will see changes appear in the workflow.

Building and setting order. Once you can get rid of unnecessary things, you will be able to streamline your affairs. It will be very helpful if you start keeping a workbook or diary. It is necessary to note the tasks you perform, their order, the time spent on one thing. In the future, you can analyze what things take you the most time. It may also turn out that it is insignificant tasks that take up a huge part of working hours. It is because of such routine work that you often do not have time to complete the most important tasks.

After analyzing the diary, you will be able to highlight a couple of the most responsible and important assignments. These are exactly what you should do first of all during the highest performance.

Cleaning or polishing. At the end of the day, you should clear the workplace of unnecessary things and put all important documents in their places. This will make it much easier to find them.

In addition, order is necessary not only in the workplace, but also in the head. To do this, you can scroll through your diary at the end of the working day, make sure that all the most necessary tasks are completed, and make any adjustments. And most importantly, understand that you leave work at work, and do not pull it home. So it will be easier to start each new working day.

Standardization (systematization). Even if you managed to rid yourself of unnecessary responsibilities, streamline your workflow, set accents, put things in order on your desktop and in your head, you need to make a system out of all of the above. This means that every day you have to follow a certain chain of rules. You will surely see the fruits of your efforts if you are faithful to such a system day after day.

Maintaining practice. If you manage to follow the top 4 points, you are introduced to a new workflow method. And now the most important thing is not to roll back, not to return to the old working habits.

After mastering the acquired method of work, you will probably think about how else you can improve the workflow. By reviewing the first four points, you will constantly adjust and improve them. And this approach will force you to constantly improve not only your working day, but also you personally. This means that you are on the right track, since kaizen is the ever-evolving perfection.

A similar 5S system can be used in any area of ​​life.

1. First "S". You need to take a piece of paper and divide it into 2 parts. In one part you need to prescribe everything that hinders you, in the other - what helps.
2. Second "S". Now, taking into account all the points described above, it is necessary to draw up a schedule that will include useful pastime (biking, going to the park at lunchtime, etc.). In addition to health-related activities, you can include other beneficial activities in your schedule.
3. Third "S". This point should be considered "cleaning" both at the level of life in general and at the workplace. Everything must be in order. Sometimes it is useful at this stage to get rid of any thoughts and act exclusively physically, and in some cases this period can be mediative.
4. Fourth "S". Now you need to stick to the schedule that you created. Soon it will be your usual way of life.
5. Fifth S. Eliminate the possibility of returning to the old pastime and thinking, stop temptations, follow a healthy lifestyle and look for new ways to improve the quality of your being.

Masaaki Imai Gemba Kaizen. The path to cost reduction and quality improvement»

This book is intended for managers of any level who are interested in finding ways to support their companies in terms of development and achieve a strong position in a competitive environment. This literary publication tells about the experience of advanced Japanese firms and Western followers of these organizations. In addition, this book will be of interest both to students of specialties close to economics, and to an ordinary person who is fond of studying modern ways of developing economic processes.

Hiroyuki Hirano 5S for workers. How to improve your workplace

If you want to organize your workspace more effectively, then this book is for you. The author describes in detail the popular 5S system and how it is implemented in the company.

Masaaki Imai Kaizen. "The key to the success of Japanese companies"

This book is the primary source in which the term "kaizen" was first used. This literary "key to success" urges its reader to pay close attention to Japanese management and consider its effectiveness.

This work will be useful for leaders of organizations of various kinds. It would not hurt to read it to middle managers, and indeed to any person who strives for development.

Jeffrey Liker and David Mayer, Practicing the Toyota Tao. Guide to Implementing Toyota Management Principles”

This book contains recommendations for overcoming all sorts of difficulties in implementing the principles of management of a well-known company with a worldwide reputation in the practice of your organization. The authors describe in detail the 4P model (Philosophy, Processes, People and Partners, Problem Solving), first shown in Jeffrey Liker's bestseller The Toyota Way.

This work is considered one of the best among similar kaizen manuals, as it contains many useful tips, practical examples and good recommendations.

Robert Maurer "Step by step to achieve the goal. Kaizen Method"

This book will teach you how to prepare for change with kaizen, how to make your life as exciting as possible, and how to fulfill it in spite of all the obstacles that will come your way.

Steven Speer "Catch the Hare"

The book covers organizations such as Toyota, Alcoa, Pratt & Whitney. The author describes their internal system of activity. Despite the fact that all of these companies are leaders in different areas of production, they have a common strength - a well-built internal management system, which leads to continuous self-improvement and a significant acceleration of the process compared to other organizations using kaizen.

Jeffrey Liker The Tao of Toyota. 14 principles of management of the world's leading company"

This book tells about the history of a world-famous company and motivates for personal achievements, and also debunks the myths that it is impossible to apply the experience of foreign companies in the Russian market. The writer shares the secrets of success, which are based on classical management. In addition, the publication is based on many years of experience of other companies, the author has observed them for more than 20 years and was able to describe an effective formula for success.

Taiichi Ohno, The Toyota Production System. Moving away from mass production

This book is a story about the creation of Toyota and its existence in the future. The author talks about what exactly allowed this organization to become a leader in the world.

When I read descriptions of the Japanese kaizen system in management textbooks, it seemed to me like some kind of lightning game: quality circles, five steps to maintain order ... The attitude changed after the original source fell into my hands - the book “Gemba kaizen: published in Russia: A way to reduce costs and improve quality”, Masaaki Imai, Alpina Publishers, 2009. In fact, we need to talk about a special Japanese approach to management. What is its essence?

1. Kaizen is commonly referred to as a quality improvement system. Indeed, quality improvement is one of the cornerstones of kaizen, but it is much more interesting what exactly quality is understood in kaizen and how it is improved. Consider the output (result) of any process within the company. Being always a random variable, this result can vary widely. The result of the process is recognized as satisfying the quality criterion if it falls within a predetermined range of values. With this approach, improving quality means organizing the process in such a way as to minimize the likelihood of a result falling outside a given interval. In the language of probability theory, the variance (scatter of values) of the distribution is minimized. In terms of management theory, this means that kaizen, through optimization management, minimizes the need for situational management as much as possible - if all processes give the expected result, non-standard situations do not arise. This is how M. Imai describes this task: “Every time problems or malfunctions appear, the manager must investigate them, find the root cause and revise existing standards or introduce new ones to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.” Other elements of kaizen are also aimed at solving the problem of reducing the likelihood of problems. For example, preventive maintenance of equipment has as its main goal to minimize sudden breakdowns. Of course, the human factor remains - workers can get sick, be late or miss work, but manufacturing defects are sharply reduced, with all the ensuing positive consequences.

2. No less important is who exactly is engaged in optimization management. In kaizen, this responsibility is assigned primarily to the personnel directly involved in the production process. Quality circles are just one form of organizing the work of these personnel. Of course, ideas for changing work processes are discussed and agreed with the foremen and higher authorities, but it is the workers (line personnel) who develop and propose them. This approach is good because many independent responsible persons are involved in the search for a solution. Therefore, several alternative options are offered, which can be compared and the best one can be chosen. After the choice is made, the best option is implemented as a mandatory standard in full compliance with the principles of process management, with the writing of instructions, training in new operating principles, etc.
The task of top management in the kaizen system remains the development of a long-term strategy, setting goals for improving performance and bringing these goals to each employee. Management must demonstrate to workers its high motivation, self-discipline and kaizen thinking - only then will the staff be really involved in optimization management.

3. The transfer of optimization management to the very bottom, in full accordance with the dependence of the amount of financial responsibility on the level of the manager, does not imply investment in optimization measures. This is an amazing feature of kaizen - the "free" transformation for the company. Optimization is carried out by the simplest methods: rearrangement of equipment, proper arrangement of tools, maintenance of order and cleanliness, exclusion of actions that do not add value to the client, and other similar steps. In fact, the basis of all improvements in kaizen is common sense. The result, however, is more than tangible. Thus, from 1986 to 1995, the introduction of the kaizen system at Aisin Seiki made it possible to increase labor productivity by 4.5 times and gross revenue by 1.8 times. The number of different types of products the company manufactures has risen from 220 to 750, while inventory turnover has fallen to 1.8 days, one seventeenth of its original value. The introduction of kaizen in the American company Wiremold led to the fact that for four years labor productivity increased by 20% annually, scrap production decreased by more than 40% per year, an increase in inventory turnover was 367%, and the lead time for product orders was reduced by 67%. How much did it cost the company? “We have made virtually no capital investment. It may have been a small amount of money spent on some aspects of the business, but mostly it went to pay employees' time” (Arthur Byrne, President of the company).

4. Kaizen does not try to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the measures taken and reward the authors of the ideas accordingly. In this regard, the views of Japanese management contrast sharply with the orientation of Western leaders almost exclusively on the cost of change and its economic payback. In kaizen, it is believed that by participating in activities such as maintaining order, eliminating non-value-adding activities, and reviewing standards, people begin to understand how much kaizen benefits them and become the first to welcome such changes. When people propose new and improved standards, they develop a sense of ownership of those standards and therefore have the self-discipline to follow them.
Kaizen provides an answer to the question of how Japanese enterprises with a lifetime employment system remain efficient. The standard "Western" approach to recruiting is simple: you need to find such employees who will bring the company the maximum profit. That is, those that will be most effective at minimum wages. Usually, everything ends with the endless intensification of the labor of workers, forcing them, in turn, to look for companies with maximum pay at minimum workload - everyone defends his own interest. In the short term, this approach is quite effective, but in the long term it begins to lose to the Japanese, based on the involvement of workers in kaizen, on their self-discipline and training. Turning to generalizations, individual competition loses to group interaction (provided that the latter is competently organized).

5. There is another important component to kaizen - the just-in-time system. The essence of this component is the transition of production to work on order. Purposeful reduction of equipment changeover time and other organization of production processes makes it possible to achieve labor productivity characteristic of in-line production in small-scale or individual production. Given the dramatic reduction in storage space requirements and costs associated with storage and unsold inventory, the net cost is even lower than with flow. This allows you to make production more local - instead of trying to occupy a narrow niche in the entire world market, you can limit yourself to customers in your country (region), offering them a much wider range. Low transport costs will make these products much more competitive compared to imported products, including those manufactured at large specialized factories.

In the long term, this allows at least thinking about building an economic system that is largely untethered from the world market. The advantages provided by the international division of labor can be offset by the advantages of development isolated from the influence of world crises.

The practice of kaizen is based on shrewd frugality and the participation of all employees in the enterprise in a process of continuous improvement. Its popularity is largely due to the fact that similar processes existed in our country for a long time, although they were not called a beautiful Japanese word.

Anton Ganzha, Deputy Head of Regional Sales Department of Toyota Motor Company:
- The system of rationalization proposals, widespread in the Soviet Union, is, in fact, the same kaizen, only called differently.

The effectiveness of the method, which manifested itself in Soviet times, is confirmed today. In enterprises that use elements of kaizen in their work, innovations initiated from below by the workers themselves become commonplace. Before the start of the master class by kaizen founder Masaaki Imai, a representative of Toyota said that an average of five rationalization proposals come from the mechanics of dealerships per month, of which one or two are implemented. Moreover, such innovations bring real income to companies.

Dmitry Spitsyn, Development Director of Klyuchavto Management Company:
- I can give you an example: in just one of our dealerships, four projects have recently been implemented, the profitability of which amounted to 7 million rubles.
Innovations offered by employees can be applied to almost any stage of the production process. But here's a sign of modernity: many of the proposals now relate to the functioning of the information system in the enterprise.

Anton Ganzha:
- One of the most interesting and effective innovations was a suggestion from a master inspector at one of the dealerships, who developed an easy-to-implement mechanism for transmitting information from one shift to another electronically.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- We implemented a system for monitoring the stages of repair, which made it possible to track the progress of work in real time, thanks to which the manager was able to keep the downtime under control and promptly take action when such a situation arises.

Often the proposals even go beyond the scope of the actual production process, touching upon the issues of organizing the life of employees or, for example, protecting their health.

Vladimir Mozhenkov, General Director of Audi Center Taganka:
- In order to combat smoking during working hours and the resulting downtime, we have introduced a simple innovation: now you can only go to smoke strictly one at a time. For many, after this innovation, the very meaning of smoking disappeared. And thanks in large part to this
12 people quit smoking this year.

In order to motivate employees to make rationalization proposals, various methods are used at different enterprises. Many include "innovation" in the payroll system.

Anton Ganzha:
- We believe that an employee should receive money from everything he does. Therefore, at Toyota enterprises, the dealer pays the employee for useful rationalization proposals.

In other cases, methods are used that are not directly related to wages.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- In the personnel reserve, we include only those employees who work in expert groups on innovation. Now we are introducing expert competence levels, in addition, there is an annual bonus that is awarded to the top three groups.

Methods of peculiar coercion can also be used.

Vladimir Mozhenkov:
- Kaizen boxes don't work on their own. In order for line management to think, I used an original idea: Ferrari has a rule that all vacationers returning to work must bring with them one suggestion for improving work. Such a system makes you think, makes you offer. I modified it a little and now I have at least two offers from each employee a year. I even sign a vacation only if I have a piece of paper from a vacationer with his rationalization proposal on my desk. As soon as you want to relax, people begin to think.

In network companies, the motivation for innovation may concern not only individual employees, but also dealerships as a whole.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- We evaluate the dealer center by indicators, among which is participation in the process of self-development. One of the criteria includes evaluation of the implementation of seven projects. If more is sold - for this bonus. But we approach each one individually, in some cases we ask you not to rush - three projects are better, but implemented to the end, than ten “hanging” in an unfinished form.

Most innovative projects are directly related to production. However, kaizen technologies can be successfully extended to office workers.

Anton Ganzha:
- In the office, kaizen is also used, although taking into account the specifics. In production, the system serves to optimize processes. If we are talking about kaizen for the office, then here the purpose of use is to satisfy the needs of customers, in our case, the needs of dealers who are customers for us as a representative office. An example of an innovation aimed at improving interaction with them is a special delivery planning procedure. Whenever we plan them, there is a temptation to bring more cars. But this is dangerous: the market is immediately saturated, cars cannot be sold without discounts, dealers lose margins, after which a snowball of unpleasant consequences begins to grow - sellers receive less wages, the quality of services decreases, and so on and so forth. As a result, all this negatively affects the customers themselves. Therefore, for the past five months we have been using a new procedure - individual discussion of orders based on the dealer's indicators: the number of staff working for him, marketing costs, and so on.
According to the kaizen theory, quality circles should support the innovation process in the team. Associations of this kind, albeit in a peculiar form, also operate at some domestic enterprises.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- We try, whenever possible, to use Russian terminology. Therefore, we do not talk about kaizen and quality circles, but we call such teams working groups of experts. Their task is to involve the dealer centers of the group of companies in the process of optimizing business processes. The experts working in such groups are employees of dealerships, ranging from managers to ordinary workers. Their basis is the heads and top managers of dealerships. The working group must necessarily include the heads of different departments. It is also fundamentally important to invite ordinary employees. Group members are not exempt employees, but they solve problems that are acute for them, which encourages participation in the work.
In general, the purpose of the groups is to respond to the real problems facing the business, to find their solutions. The result of the work is the creation of standard procedures and their implementation in the life of the enterprise. The advantages of such working groups common for the entire group of companies - the decisions of some apply not only to their own enterprise, but also to other dealer centers.
The results of the activities of the working groups are summed up monthly.

In some cases, the functions of quality circles are performed by structural divisions of the company.

Vladimir Mozhenkov:
- We don't have quality circles. For what? Everyone works in teams and shifts anyway. Inside them, people discuss innovations and make their own proposals. And at the front office level, we created five cross-functional teams, 14 people each. They meet every month and talk about how to solve interaction issues.

Getting employees to come up with innovative proposals is only half the battle. A much more difficult task is to make sure that interesting proposals are introduced into the business. It is also desirable that the innovations themselves should not be spontaneous. The activity of the staff should be directed to those problems that require solutions in the first place. And in order to achieve these goals, companies use technologies to implement innovation.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- Leaders should know what to do when faced with a problem, there should be simple algorithms for their actions. Efficiency always depends on this, plus the skills of the staff and motivation. Any problem is in these three components: either in processes, or in skills, or in motivation. Improvement must begin with processes. We have developed a technology of six stages. Stage 1 - situation analysis and goal setting. In order to avoid problems with him, we, through training and motivational measures, ensured that all directors possessed the technology of analysis. After the goals are defined, the 2nd stage is the brainstorming of the experts of the working groups. Stage 3 - an experiment during which the viability of the innovation is locally tested in practice. If it demonstrates its usefulness, a description of the process is produced - this is the 4th stage. Then training is carried out, all procedures are incorporated into the testing and training system. And finally, changes are made to the motivation system.
In order to coordinate the innovation process, our company introduced the position of lean expert - a specialist in lean and optimization. The control of innovations across the network is carried out using a matrix of processes, which reflects all the processes implemented in dealerships, and shows their status.
In order for the adopted innovations to take root faster in the company, original master classes are very effective. For example, the technical director comes out personally to conduct an interactive acceptance. Demonstrates its technology to others and at the same time understands what else can be improved in the process - for example, arrange racks differently so that they are always under
hand.

An important moment necessary for the introduction of innovations is the determination of the exact date of their launch and control over its observance.

Vladimir Mozhenkov:
- Third Tuesday and third Thursday of each month - discussion of projects. We have been discussing since the morning for two hours, if there are practical proposals - they wrote it down, appointed a responsible person, and launched it. In a month, we start work by listening to how the plan was fulfilled.

Innovations, in the development of which the staff of the dealership participates, is an important, but not the only component of the kaizen mechanisms used by domestic dealers. In some companies, within the framework of this theory, work is underway to optimize the staffing table.

Anton Ganzha:
- We encourage our dealers to work on optimizing personnel. In this regard, I always remember an anecdote about how Russian and Japanese businessmen who run a similar business meet at some conference. The Japanese says that eight people work at his enterprise, and asks how many workers work at the Russian plant. It becomes somehow uncomfortable for a Russian to say that he employs 300 workers, and he lies, saying that he has nine people on his staff. On this they part. The next morning, the Japanese comes sleepy, with red eyes: they say, he could not fall asleep at night, he kept thinking for what kind of purposes the Russian uses the ninth employee.
In fact, many dealerships in the state have a lot of people who do not work at full capacity and without whom the dealer could easily exist successfully.

To optimize the staff, the dealer must constantly "monitor" the staffing table to identify inefficient positions. Also, before introducing a particular new position, it is worth considering what functions the new employee will perform, whether one of the already working specialists can perform them, and whether it would be profitable to outsource this function. The final decision on the introduction of a new staff unit can only be made by the head of the enterprise on the basis of a reasonable proposal made by the head of the unit that will include the new employee.
Visualization

Another principle of kaizen, which was successfully used in the Soviet economy at one time, is the principle of visualization, which is also used in many modern enterprises.

Anton Ganzha:
- One of the important principles of kaizen is visualization. To start changing something, you must first describe it, and then visually convey it to all interested employees.

One of the most striking manifestations of this principle is the balanced scorecard, which is widely used in many dealerships, even if their management has never heard of any kaizen. Balanced indicators allow you to concretize and visually, usually in numerical terms, determine those parameters, changes in which characterize changes in the business itself.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- Balanced Scorecard allows all managers to track problems and suggest solutions.

In many companies, the principle of visualization manifests itself in conveying important information to employees in a visual form.

Dmitry Spitsyn:
- All procedures are combined into a book of knowledge, which can be obtained by any employee of the holding. Another know-how of ours is that all processes are presented in the form of comics.

Vladimir Mozhenkov:
- We do not draw comics. On the other hand, we widely use visual propaganda in the spirit of Soviet times, like the same posters that are well known to everyone.

Another principle of kaizen, which is no less widely used in the domestic auto business, is the principle of standardization.

Vladimir Mozhenkov:
- The enterprise must have at least a clear system of planning through the production task for each employee. For a month. To see what he has to do. We went beyond the standards and made standards for everyone. For example, according to the standards, a person must sell 9 cars, this is a “commitment” that is not discussed. The standard is not met - a person falls into the laggards with all the ensuing consequences. The standard will be
12 sales. For achieving the standard, super-motivation is required.

The fight against losses - the notorious "kaizen muda" - did not bypass domestic companies.

Vladimir Mozhenkov:
- How do we deal with losses? For example, we work at night, otherwise the equipment and square meters are idle. No need to look for a penny when millions are under your feet. And in order for the employees themselves to take care of the task of dealing with losses, it is important to draw their attention to this problem. To do this, I sent a question by e-mail to each of the leaders: “What is muda?” He achieved his goal - these letters really attracted attention, primarily because of the dissonant analogy with the Russian word. People began to look in dictionaries, to think, why am I asking about this.
The issue of dealing with losses for the back office translates into a solution to the problem - how to load idle hours. For the warehouse, it's a matter of reducing inventory. It is necessary to optimize stocks and sell illiquid assets. But at the same time, it is very important to keep track of the satisfied demand ratio, otherwise the losses will exceed the savings.

It should be noted that the kaizen system in itself is not a magic wand. Moreover, in its crystal clear form, it is not used in almost any dealership. But this is not required. It is more important that each of the leaders knows the main provisions of the system and can choose for himself what is closest to him. This also applies to the provisions of other management theories and practices, which, in turn, implies familiarity with them and the constant expansion of one's own horizons. As a result, you can thoughtfully use the elements of different systems and, on their basis, create your own, which is most suitable for a particular company or business.

What is kaizen?

KAIZEN IN LOGISTICS, OR SUPPRESSION OF THE "MONSTER OF CHANGE"

The implementation of kaizen traditionally begins with production and often stops there. But to achieve the effectiveness of the enterprise is possible only through coordinated work at all its levels. This article is devoted to the improvement of processes in logistics.

Translation - Olga Goncharova, portal "Manufacturing control"

Original article: "Kaizen (KVP) im Handel", Dr. Harald Gerking, Dr. Ingrid Isenhard

"One head it's good, but two better". It was this principle that guided DWLogistics, the first logistics division of the German trading company, when implementing kaizen. The results are impressive: already at the first seminars, more than 200 suggestions were made regarding the improvement of work processes in the enterprise. If earlier about 80% of ideas belonged to the management, today this figure does not exceed 20%. The remaining 80% are the merit of ordinary employees. How did they manage to achieve such impressive results?

DWLogistics (DWL) spun off from German retailer Woolworth on January 1, 2007. The purpose of this branch was to relieve the central warehouse in Bönen (near Dortmund) somewhat and evenly distribute the load and fixed costs while maintaining a high turnover. Near Böhnen, the company has set up a logistics service to deal with a special range of goods, such as goods requiring special temperature conditions. In 2006, the work of this department was awarded two awards - the Logistics Service Award and the European Supply Chain Excellence Award.

Folk wisdom says: "A new broom sweeps cleanly." Under this motto, in 2002, the restructuring program at Deutschen Woolworth was launched. Already in 2004, most of the ideas were put into practice, which led to a reduction in logistics costs by more than 20%. But they didn't stop there. The manager of the logistics department decided to conduct kaizen seminars, in which he himself had participated several years earlier.

What is kaizen?

Kaizen is the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement (also called continuous improvement process, or CIP); it has a number of important characteristics:

• Kaizen is a general name for the principles of improvement at all levels of the enterprise.
• The process of continuous improvement within kaizen is aimed at improving the work in the group.
• It is a long-term strategy for detecting and solving problems in production processes, in the workplace and in the working environment of the entire enterprise.
• Kaizen must involve all employees, otherwise the results may be disappointing.

From all of the above, the difference between kaizen and innovation management becomes clear. In theory, innovation almost always leads to process improvement, but practice shows that sometimes there are deteriorations that can slow down the process of improvement. It is a completely different matter with kaizen. This philosophy supports innovation while driving the process of improvement. It cannot be said that kaizen and innovation management are mutually exclusive; rather, they complement each other.

Rice. 1. Difference between kaizen and innovation management

Another methodology often mentioned in connection with kaizen is Six Sigma. Both methodologies have similar goals. The difference is that they are largely based on the mentality of the countries in which they were developed (for example, a strong focus on numbers in the Six Sigma methodology developed in the USA). And both tend to underestimate the emotional component and its impact on the outcome of the improvement process. Therefore, it is recommended to combine these methodologies with intensive change management.

Starting the change process

When planning the launch of kaizen, the company's management invited representatives of several consulting firms to present their services, not only to the management, but also to two representatives of the workers - future participants in the project, speaking from the side of the company's ordinary employees. They were selected according to the following criteria:

• deep knowledge of technological processes;
• openness to innovation;
• prestige among workers.

The presentations were held in the form of tests. At the same time, representatives of the workers had the opportunity to form their own opinion about the consultants and later propose someone else's candidacy for further cooperation. The choice fell on OSTO Systemberatung from Aachen. Together with them, at the very beginning of the project, economic and social goals were determined.

Tab. 1. Economic and social goals of the project

Education

Before the start of the project, the rules were agreed with the participants, which had to be strictly adhered to, such as:

• leave excuses
• avoid English terms
• turn off phones
• openness, honesty
• confidence
• attention

After achieving the first results, the team decided to involve all employees of the distribution center in the continuous improvement process. During the year, about 75% of employees completed training. The training was carried out according to the principle “Teach the teacher”. It began with process managers, then went through department heads, groups, and ordinary employees. By joint efforts, it was planned to overcome the traditional way of thinking of employees (Table 2):

Tab. 2. Changes in the mindset of employees

The constant support of the management was of great importance. For approximately two years after the start of the project, regular seminars on strategy and development of reflection were held in order to be able to monitor the progress of the project and, if necessary, make adjustments. At the same time, it was important to change the way of thinking not only of ordinary employees, but also of the company's managers.

Tab. 3. Changes in the way leaders think

Traditionally, much attention has been paid to the elimination of costs, which take various forms. The most common are overproduction, excess inventory, excess transportation, equipment downtime, unsustainable, overly long routes, defects, or "excessive" impractical creativity.

The main condition for reducing costs is to restore order and cleanliness in production. This is possible thanks to the 5S campaign:

• Seiri - "sorting" - a clear division of things into necessary and unnecessary and getting rid of the latter.
• Seiton - "keeping order" (neatness) - organizing the storage of necessary things, which allows you to quickly and easily find and use them.
• Seiso - "cleanliness" (cleaning) - keeping the workplace clean and tidy.
• Seiketsu - "standardization" (maintaining order) - is a necessary condition for the fulfillment of the first three rules.
• Shitsuke - "improvement" (habit formation) - cultivating the habit of accurately following established rules, procedures and technological operations.

results

The proposals came from different departments. They were mainly concerned with increasing productivity (about 36%) and improving quality (about 35%). Fears that employees, out of fear of downsizing, would not offer any measures to improve productivity were not confirmed. Separately, it is worth noting the proposals for increasing motivation (about 15%).

Rice. 2. Submitted kaizen proposals

Naturally, the implementation of kaizen takes time, but these costs can be calculated. On average, the processing of one rationalization proposal required about 8 hours of working time.

What do the proposed proposals look like? Consider three examples:

Example 1. Reducing the duration of the route

Sorting goods requires effort and compliance with certain documents. Even taking into account the workstation, it took an average of 1.43 minutes to complete a path of 160 m.

After installing additional work stations, the distance was reduced to approximately 95 m, which took 1.07 minutes to complete. Multiplying the difference of 22 seconds by the annual turnover and the staff costs, the savings will be 6100 euros per year.

Rice. 3. Changes in the route

Example 2. Getting rid of unnecessary things

Historically, shipments delivered to a distribution center have been tagged to make it easier for employees to sort them. Over time, many other activities were carried out to simplify identification, which, in the end, led to even more confusion and cumbersomeness.

Rice. 4. Cargo identification

The imperfection of communication has led to the fact that labels are still used, although they are no longer needed. Thus, removing them will help save not only labels, but also time for printing and gluing them.

Example 3: Reorganization

In this case, several procurement departments were merged. This has resulted in departments becoming more cohesive, as the process of sharing information between departments has become easier. The photo shows the difference in the volume of order documentation before (right) and after (left) the merger of departments.

Rice. 5. Reducing the volume of documentation

It is not so much about saving paper, which has a positive effect on the environment, but about saving working time.

All three examples clearly demonstrate how to achieve impressive results in the simplest and most cost-effective way.

Controlling

“What cannot be measured cannot be controlled. What cannot be controlled cannot be improved,” says the old managerial wisdom. And what about the NPU? Here are the three most important questions:

• Are there new ideas?
• How quickly are these ideas processed?
• What is the result of these ideas?

While the answer to the last question can be found in the Cost Center Report, the first two questions require a different approach.

Rice. 6. The number of processed rationalization proposals to the number of submitted rationalization proposals

This chart shows the number of ideas received and proposals implemented. Rejected offers are also considered processed. The graph shows how many proposals were received (vertical data) and how long it takes to implement them (horizontally).

The convergence of both lines means that the number of processed proposals is greater than the new ones. In this case, the management should force the generation of new ideas, for example, through seminars. The divergence of the lines indicates a longer period for processing proposals. Such a situation carries the risk of demotivating employees and reducing the flow of new ideas, because employees do not see the implementation of their ideas in practice or see their implementation with a strong delay. These schedules are very useful as they allow for better control of the proposal submission process.

Time factor and intensive kaizen support

One of the most important facts is: "Continuous improvement takes time." Although it brings noticeable results in a short time, in order to achieve such important goals as gradual and continuous improvement and the provision of restructuring measures, more continuous use of kaizen and intensive support from the management of the enterprise is necessary.

In order for the improvement process to become independent, it takes 2-3 years. The process of change is most clearly shown in the figure "Monster of Change".

Rice. 7. The process of becoming an NPU

This figure well describes the typical challenges faced by an organization in the process of transformation. Each change carries, on the one hand, criticism of the current state of affairs and, accordingly, those who feel responsible for it, and on the other hand, uncertainty about the future, and thus causes a flurry of emotions, sometimes even opposition. Each of the three phases - Preparation, Implementation, Strength Testing - has typical indicators and signs that need to be paid special attention to during project implementation and responded to accordingly.

For example, often in the middle of the second phase (Implementation), if the results do not meet expectations, skeptics (internal and external) find something to criticize. Often this leads to unnecessary changes in the project or to its curtailment.

DWLogistics has gone through all the monster phases. There was also a "crisis of meaning", during which the success of the project was called into question. In this situation, support from the top management of the company is especially important. Instead of doubting the team and curtailing the project, the decision was made to give the project team more freedom of action and more responsible approach to cooperation with middle managers. Additional review meetings were scheduled to discuss project progress, successes and failures. As a result, principles of action in such situations were developed:

• Do not embellish - but question the project only in really critical situations, in other cases, firmly follow the goal (patiently and persistently).
• The support and interest of the management contribute to the implementation of the project, as well as the resolution of conflict situations with the participation of critics and skeptics.
• Provide as much information as possible regarding the successes, positive aspects and (even insignificant) progress during the implementation of the project, as well as their consequences in the future.
• Identify counter factors and (including hidden) motives of critics, for example, lack of trust between colleagues, fear of loss of control/freedom of action, self-doubt, etc.
• Take appropriate measures: upgrading skills, building confidence (for example, by involving in the project), discussing alternatives, creating zones of stability (leaving the most productive and “problem-free” structures unchanged)

Costs and Efficiency

What is the cost of the NPM process, how much time and effort is required for its implementation? Naturally, the costs are highly dependent on how much time the company is willing to devote to the project. DWLogistics has been changing in a non-cyclical way. If at the beginning of the project two employees worked full-time on its implementation, today five people are doing it for only 20 hours a month. As soon as the motivation of employees fell, the costs of the project immediately increased, and vice versa. So, on the one hand, the progress of the project was ensured, on the other hand, costs were contained.

In the end, the "monster of change" was defeated. The continuous process of improvement got into a groove and became a routine. Phases are constantly changing, when changes are pulled by employees or pushed by managers. In this, communication plays an important role. DWLogistics decided to post the results on a bulletin board near the entrance to the cafeteria, changing both the content and appearance of the posted materials every week to keep employees interested in the company's news.

A lot of controversy was caused by the question of "encouragement." Everyone agreed that the most interesting ideas should be highlighted. On the other hand, repetitive and unrealistic proposals (such as the construction of a new warehouse) should neither be awarded nor rejected without consideration. A system was developed, according to which, at the general meeting, the authors of the best ideas are awarded with a diploma and a gift certificate and proclaimed the “NPU person of the year”. In addition, they and their proposals are written about in the corporate newspaper.

The implementation of kaizen, or continuous improvement process, at DWLogistics has paid off. Today, the constant search for improvement is an integral part of the life and philosophy of the company. At the same time, the client always remains in the spotlight, because in this situation everyone wins.